Nursing Law and Torts PDF

## Definition of terms - **Laws:** rules to protect people & keep society functioning. - **A crime:** is an act considered wrong against a person or his property, but the act is considered to be against the public as well. ## Crimes are classified as: 1. **Felonies:** (rape, murder). A felony is p...

## Definition of terms - **Laws:** rules to protect people & keep society functioning. - **A crime:** is an act considered wrong against a person or his property, but the act is considered to be against the public as well. ## Crimes are classified as: 1. **Felonies:** (rape, murder). A felony is punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year. 2. **Misdemeanors:** misdemeanors are commonly punishable with fines, with imprisonment for less than 1 year, or with both, or with parole. ## Types of Laws affecting nursing: 1. **Criminal Law** 2. **Civil Law** ### Criminal law and nursing - felonies - **Violation of any law governing the practice of any licensed profession may be a crime even if no actual harm occurred to the patient.** Nurse practice act requires actions to be performed under the direction of a physician that explicit authorization must exist. However, usual practice act will not substitute for the specific authorization required by law. - **When do nurses become involved under criminal law?** - Intentional or unintentional deaths. - Not renewing the license. - Illegal diversion of drugs. ### Civil law and nursing - **Civil law relates to legal disputes between private parties. It is concerned with violation of individual's rights.** Malpractice actions brought in health care situations involve civil law. ## A tort - Torts are civil wrongs committed by one person against another. The result of a tort may be physical harm, psychological harm, or harm to reputation, livelihood, or some other less tangible value. The action that causes a civil wrong may be either intentional or unintentional. ### Intentional tort - The outcome was planned, although the person involved may not have believed that the intended outcome would be harmful to the other person. - Intentional torts include: - Assault and battery. - Invasion of privacy. - Defamation of character. - False imprisonment. - **Assault and Battery:** Battery is the intentional touching of another person without his consent. Assault is the suggestion or threat of battery. Examples of these wrongs are performing a treatment or surgical procedure without obtaining consent or forcing clients to do something against their will. - **False Imprisonment**: It is a charge that a person has been held (in prison or in a hospital) without sufficient cause. False Imprisonment may arise in cases in which a client is unjustly placed in a psychiatric hospital at the request of a relative. Or when a client is held in a hospital because he cannot pay his bill. - **Invasion of Privacy:** It is a wrong in which information given in confidence is released without the knowledge or consent of the client. In the health care field, the information in patients' records is strictly confidential, and the nurse must not share it with anyone except other health care workers treating the same client. The nurse who violates this confidentiality is liable to an invasion of privacy suit. ### Defamation of character - The giving out of false and injurious information about a client is called Defamation of Character. - There are two kinds of defamation: - A nurse who maliciously includes untrue and harmful information about a client in his record, who discusses a client maliciously with other health care workers, or who discloses certain true information about a client (such as the state of woman's pregnancy) would be liable to a defamation of character suit. ### Unintentional torts - It is a wrong committed against another person or property that was not intended to happen. The most common cause of an unintentional tort is negligence and malpractice. ### Negligence - It may include violation of a client's rights, causing distress, failure to carry out medical order or carrying out an order incorrectly, carelessness, and failure to meet the standard of care. ### Malpractice - It is a term used for a specific type of negligence. It refers to the negligence of a specially trained or educated person in the performance of his job. Therefore, malpractice is the term used to describe negligence by nurses in the performance of their duties. ## Legal safeguards for the nurse ### Contract - A contract must involve real consent of the parties, a valid consideration, a lawful purpose, competent parties, and the format required by law. ### Collective Bargaining - Collective bargaining is a legal process in which representatives of organized employees negotiate with employers about such matters as wages, hours, and conditions. ### Competent practice - Each nurse is responsible for making sure that her educational background and experience are adequate to fulfill the nursing responsibilities described in the description. ### Documentation - Document everything in an appropriate, accurate, clear, and concise way following principles of documentation even in the emergency situations.